THE INAUGURAL flights of low-cost airline Ryanair are due to touch down in Paphos this morning.
The flights are from Frankfurt in Germany and Stockholm in Sweden and are scheduled to land at around11.40am and 11.50am respectively.
Nassos Hadjigeorgiou, the head of the Paphos regional board of tourism said the load factor on both flights is 85 per cent.
“In cooperation with Hermes Airports and Ryanair, we have organised an event to be held at Paphos airport from 11am-1pm,” he said. “The welcome event will coincide with the first-ever flights from Ryanair to land in Paphos.”
Hadjigeorgiou said the town was thrilled to see that the flights had got off to a good start.
Disembarking passengers will be greeted by traditional Cypriot dancers and Cypriot music as well as a small finger-food buffet which will include Cypriot products such as halloumi and olives.
There will also be wine from the Paphos region on offer as well as a special welcome bag. This will contain samples of Cypriot wine, Yeroskipou delights and other local produce, as well as advertising material covering Paphos and Cyprus.
Members of the local tourist board, the mayor of Paphos, representatives of the hoteliers association, Hermes airports and the marketing manager of Ryanair will also be in attendance.
Hermes spokesman Adamos Aspris said: “We’re welcoming the new Ryanair flights and are looking forward to an increase in passenger traffic, as well as stimulating the economy of Paphos and the region.”
Hadjigeorgiou said the new flights would help turn things around for Paphos, which has been hit by a drop in visitors over the past two years.
“This is the beginning of a new era for Paphos and I think we have started to create the prerequisite to see growth in the district. The new flights are a very positive development and our efforts to help the airline and those involved to connect Paphos with other destinations will continue.”
Hadjigeorgiou noted that in spite of the new Ryanair flights, there was still a huge gap and a great need for other destinations to be added to Paphos.
These include destinations such as Austria, France and airports other than Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
“We also need more connections with Nordic countries such as Denmark. Hopefully some of these ideas will be realised next year,” he said.
The new Ryanair flights will connect Paphos with 15 new European destinations. Two of the airline’s aircrafts will be based in Paphos and further flights are set to commence this month.
